thoughts on dexter’s ‘a horse of a different color’

“Some people think that religion began as a way for primitive cultures to explain natural phenomenon. The fire, the wind, the rain, they created a god for each one. You’d think science would have made religion obsolete, but it hasn’t.” – Dexter

Science and religion collide in A Horse of a Different Color and not just for Dexter. This episode focused heavily on faith, whether that meant believing your boss is selflessly offering friendly advice or that the new intern likes you and not what you can give her. Travis and Gellar may have been setting up ‘tableaus’ but in the grander scheme of the show, many of those messages were for us as well.

Why is Dexter drawn to Brother Sam? Kudos to Mos Def and the writers for giving us such a developed character in such a short amount of time. These two have casual chemistry and whether Dexter is trying to find proof or he’s just intrigued by what he doesn’t understand, this is one of the most natural reactions we’ve seen Dexter have…ever. Given his criminal and religious backgrounds, I wonder if he’ll be killed by Travis or inaccurately accused of the murder. All of my theories on how long the Brother Sam/Dexter bromance lasts center around genuinely believing that Sam is one of the good guys and represents hope for Dexter. Not that I want him to change his current level of morality and stop killing or anything (Zzzzzz!).

Would it be possible to use the Book of Revelation to decipher this whole season? I wouldn’t want to figure out all of the twists and turns before they happen, but I wonder if it would even be possible.

Are the new characters just to breathe fresh life into the Homicide division or should we be watching them more carefully? Mike Anderson is obviously big on protocol and observant, but aside from annoying Quinn and giving Deb fashion advice, I’m not sure there was much more to him this week. Then there’s Ryan who stole the hand and got caught by Masuka, and being a little mischievous thief could be as dark as her character gets. Separately I think I would be able to just enjoy the newbies, but Christine Hill gave me trust issues when it comes to new, non-serial killer characters.

Travis is working alone…right? Henry pointed out that two people seemingly did the slashing and staging. But Gellar always seems not quite there, sorta like he might not really be there. Erin, the waitress, doesn’t seem aware of Gellar at the restaurant and nothing concrete on whether she looked at him when she was tied up on the floor either. When Gellar speaks to Travis, it’s almost like he’s his conscious…the conscious that drives him to murder the girl he “defiled” and turn her into a winged messenger….but still.

Batista and Quinn got high.Completely throwaway scene, it wasn’t stoner funny, nor did it seem relevant to the plot. I’m only mentioning the whole thing because its irrelevance annoyed me.

What will Dexter’s IOU be? Harrison’s appendix ruptured and in a very human, un-Dexter moment, he appeals to God (or whoever he thinks the higher power is) and promises something in return if Harrison makes it out ok. I think the IOU will come into play for Dexter, but it will be of his own doing. Meaning something will happen and he’ll see it as a sign that this is how he can repay his “debt”.

How will Erin’s death affect Deb? Career-wise, it won’t have the best of implications. I can already see LaGuerta super smug, especially since Deb was involved when something similar happened to her last season. Emotionally, I think this will diminish all of that bravado Deb had going on after she was complimented for her “no BS” style during the press conference.

“What is this?” Dexter asked early on in the episode, but in respect to the season, are the killings really “doomsday” themed or part of a bigger picture. The connection between religion and Gellar was drawn pretty early on and Dexter is never that “easy”…so what are we missing? Is Gellar really guiding Travis or is he a Henry-like figure?